One of the Greatest Classics (Mughal-E-Azam (DVD))

Member Name: kiran8

Product:	Mughal-E-Azam (DVD)
Date:	24/08/08 (69 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Visually beautiful, meticulous to the last detail

Disadvantages: none

What can one say about MUGHAL E AZAM?
That it is an Epic of Indian Cinema...
That it Broke all box office records in the history of Indian Cinema...

That It is one of the most lavish film to have ever been made in India...
That it took over 12 years to complete...
That it is one of the Grandest, Biggest and the Greatest film ever made in the history of Indian Cinema....
That it was one of the most expensive films ever made in Indian history...

That the sound track of the film composed by NAUSHAD has been rated as the second best soundtrack ever...
That it is the first full feature-length movie to be revived in color and re-released, in the history of world cinema.
The colour-revised version of "Mughal-e-Azam" is a path-breaking and far-reaching experiment with creative continuation. To transform the skin tones and ambience in the fabulous original black-and-white into glimmering colour is a task that boggles the mind.
Most of what has been colour-revised is done with extreme aesthetic care...
A WORK OF ART is the only phrase to describe this historical ,whose grand palaces-and-fountains look has an epic sweep and whose heart-wrenching core of romance has moved audience for decades..

Mughal E azam is the kind of Historical film that is made once in a life time..This Magnum Opus was released in 1960 after nearly 12 years in the making....It went on to become the biggest box office successes in the history of Indian cinema and probably one of the most well known films ever...
Not surprisingly, Mughal-e-Azam has become a must-see classic for all hindi film viewers...
The film boasts of a cache of riches, exquisite high drama, powerful performances,Magnificent music and at the centre of it all ,the other worldly beauty of MADHUBALA, the venus of Hindi cinema...
K. ASIF, the director was a possessed man until he completed the film aftet 12 long years...He was a perfectionist to the core, never wanting to compromise on details.....He waited patiently for 2 years before he could get the permission to shoot the court scenes in the palace hall of Jodhpur rather than shoot it in a studio set.

STORY
Set in the 16th Century AD , while the Mughals ruled India, it is a tale of the doomed love affair between PRINCE SALIM(DILIP KUMAR), Son of Emperor AKBAR(PRITVIRAJ KAPOOR) and ANARKALI (MADHUBALA) the Beautiful, ill fated court dancer....the intensity of this affair perpetrates a war between the Prince and his Father ...

Akbar was a fair and Just ruler .He wanted the Hindus and the Muslims to live in Harmony.He married a Jodhpur Kshatriya Hindu Princess JODHABHAI(DURGA KHOTE).Their son was SALIM.
Akbar placed consideration for his kingdom before parental love..
Salim being the crown prince was trained in warfare and kept away from home until he grew up to be an adult.
On his return to the Palace as a strapping warrior, he meets the Beautiful ANARKALI, a lowly courtesan...They both fall in love and Salim wants to marry her much against the wishes of his father, who has already selected a girl BAHAR(NIGAR SULTANA) of Royal Heritage for him, Bahar has been eyeing the power and wealth that she inherits on marrying the prince...

When Bahar learns about the passionate romance that is brewing between the prince and Anarkali, she wastes no time in informing the King and Queen.Queen Jodhabhai tries to reason out with Salim but fails ...

A furious Akbar imprisons Anarkali .Salim however comes to know about this and helps her escape.Anarkali professes her love for Salim in the open court and challenges Akbar "Pyar kiya toh darna kya (love is beyond fear, why should one hide it?).An infuriated Akbar wants to get rid of Anarkali , but the lovers elope to a distant place along with a friend who helps them out....

Akbar declares Salim a traitor and sends a huge battalion to defeat Salim and bring both Salim and Anarkali back to the court, where they would be tried for treason...
But what happens at the battle field as Salim faces the entire might of Akbar's army? and will Salim and Anarkali get together? This forms the conclusion of this epic saga.....

ABOUT THE FILM
K.ASIF'S direction is subdued and very individualistic.There are hardly any wasted words or scenes.He has used the actors effectively, by making use of their expressions rather than long dialouges or words..
And that he is a perfectionist to the last detail shows in every single frame of the film, be it the war sequences or the court room or the Harem..everything looks in place and perfect..

The story goes that Asif had a team of learned historians pouring over old Mughal writings and drawings , so that they could get the details right....the dress and jewellery was designed by royal jewellers from Jaipur and Jodhpur....
The entire show belongs to the Beautiful beautiful Madhubala as Anarkali.Such is her impact that all other actors pale in comparison except PRITHVIRAJ KAPOOR who plays the role of AKBAR.

Madhubala mesmerises the viewers with her blinding beauty and regal carriage.One wonders , were all the definitions of feminine beauty invented exclusively for Madhubala?
This was the last film she acted in , and she was ill with a heart ailment during the last phase of the shooting..in fact she died soon after ,at the relatively young age of 36....But what a swan song???Unforgettable...

The confrontation scenes between Akbar and Anarkali are a treat to watch , with an Angry Akbar threatening Anarkali and asking her to keep away from his son Salim, whereas a hardly audible Anarkali, subdued yet holding her ground ,stumps Akbar with her simple logic about her own love for Salim and her feelings, and challenges him...

DiILIP KUMAR was/is one of India's Greatest actors,but this is not one of his best roles, inspite of having the central role. However Dilip Kumar's understated expressions of romantic passion are to this day, exemplary and unbelievable...the verbal sparring between Emperor Akbar (Prithviraj Kapoor) and his adamant son Salim (Dilip Kumar) are worth a watch...To this day it draws applause from the audience....(Indian way of appreciating an impressive scene)

The ongoing real life romance between Dilip Kumar and Madhbala when the movie was announced and the Tragic end to their romance, due to parental pressures from Madhubala's side, must have acted as a tremendous publicity for the film when it was released.
From the first frame to last, the intensity of the lovers' passion infects the audience....
There are some very fine moments in the film, a long drawn out Romantic scene between the lovers which has been beautifully shot.And what hits us, is the magical chemistry between Madhubala and Dilip Kumar in the celebrated love sequences...it is shown through their expressions and eyes ...

The famous and the unforgettable dance sequence of Madhubala was shot in the SHEESH MAHAL (Palace of Mirrors) of the AMBER FORT OF JAIPUR., where Anarkali( Madhubala) dances in front of Mughal Emperor and his court to the tunes of 'Pyar Kiya to Darna Kya, "(having loved, what is there to fear?" ) Her facial expressions are beautiful, and there is such tenderness and love when she looks at Salim ,and it is replaced at once by a Challenging expression as she looks at Akbar....a fine bit of acting by Madhubala
This song was one of three sequences shot in Technicolor in the original version, while the rest of the movie was in black and white.
To this day this song remains one of LATA MANGESHKAR'S most popular and much loved number..It has become a signature tune for all lovers...

Dilip Kumar never gets to sing any songs in this film...The very famous Rafi's Zindabad zindabad yeh muhobbat zindabad was picturised on a lesser known actor and had a chorus of a hundred singers along with MOHAMMAD RAFI...

DVD DETAILS

Genre: Drama
Cast: Prithviraj Kapoor,Durga Khote,Dilip Kumar, Madhubala,Nigar Sultana,Ajit...

Direction: K.Asif
Music: Naushad

Classification: Parental Guidance
Running Time: 2 hours 56 minutes

Video Category: Bollywood Feature Film
Country Of Origin: India

Release date: 02/01/2006
No of Discs: 1

SOME PROMINENT SONGS
Mohe panghat pe nandlaal ched gayo re - Lata Mangeshkar
Pyar kiya toh darna kya jab pyar kiya toh - Lata Mangeshkar
Zindabad zindabad yeh muhobbat zindabad - Mohammad Rafi & Chorus
Teri mehfil mein kismat aazmaan ke (Qawali) - Lata Mangeshkar, Shamshad begum & chorus
Beqas pe karam kijiye sarkare madina- Lata Mangeshkar
Khuda nighahbaan ho tumhara - Lata Mangeshkar
Pre jogan banke - Bade Ghulam Ali Khan

It has 11 songs in all....
Although the movie was made partly in colour, the full colour version was released in 2004. It was the first Indian movie to be released in Pakistan after Indian movies were banned there following the 1965 war.

Flawless, seamless, timeless...What does one say about a film that immortalised each one of its cast members and technicians?
Most definitely worth viewing and this is one film that never goes out of fashion in decades to come...

Summary: Madhubala's Swan song...